Dumb question for moms of 2

djm31012

What side of the car did you put your newborn on? DS currently sits behind the passenger side, always has since he was in his infant seat. Do I move him to the other side and put the new baby there, or just put the new baby behind the driver side? Insignificant and irrelevant for now, but just curious!

holly321

I put the baby behind the passenger door. I have street parking in a quiet little town. It made sense because I could put the infant carrier on the side walk while I got all my stuff and dd out.

kleigh926

DS is on the passenger side, for no particular reason other than DD's car seat was already on the driver's side and we didn't feel like moving it. I've heard that the most vulnerable child should be on the driver's side since your instincts are to protect yourself in an accident, but I don't know if it really matters. 

Tulips114

Baby went in the middle.  DD1 went behind the driver's side.  They're both in RF convertibles on opposite sides now.  DD2 is on the driver's side because when I'm by myself with them DD1 crawls in under DD2s seat and into her own seat.  So, we just go to the driver's side and all get in on that side.

tamarar5

I moved E.  DD1 takes him out to the car-- that's her job.  She holds his hand and helps him to the car, so that I have a chance to put the baby down. So, I go out buckle DD2, then buckle DS by the time they get out to the car.  Also, E's so tall that his headrest is extended, and it was hard to have the driver's seat pushed forward.  So DD2 is behind the driver, DS is behind the passenger, and DD1 is on the back seat.

wineandcake

I'm struggling with this! I drive a small car and we're both tall so the front seats are pushed pretty far back (all the way for DH, just a tiny bit forward for me). Right now DS is RF in the middle seat. When he was in the infant seat he was on the passenger side because it was closest to the house and because the passenger seat can go forward a bit more since passenger doesn't need as much leg room as driver.

When new baby comes I think we will switch Mac to FF for in town driving (smallest town ever, we don't even have a stop light) and RF for trips to town (4ish hours on a highway). I'm thinking Mac behind driver FF and baby behind passenger, but don't know what to do if Mac is RF. Would I put him behind the driver because his seat can be a bit more upright? And once baby is in a convertible seat and Mac is FF all the time, would it make more sense to have LO in the middle and Mac on driver side? He has a big seat (Britax advocate) so I worry about space when we're in the car since we drive that most. In the truck I know we can do middle and drivers side since that thing is huge.

Gah, so many questions!

kbates85

A pediatrician once told me that the youngest should go in the middle (safest) and the second safest place is behind the drivers side. He said that's because you will instinctually try to protect your side of the car in the event of a side collision. I've never tried to verify this information but it makes since to me. 

Rynleigh

Probably fine to just go with convenience on this one. Passenger side if you use street parking frequently, driver's side if you don't. 

If you were looking for statistical data, there is a very slight increased risk of injury for the driver's side vs the passenger's side in car accidents on average, but it seems it's pretty insignificant. 

https://www.saferidenews.com/srndnn/SafetyTopics/UsingCarSeatsBoostersandSeatBelts/InstallationofCarSeats/LeastRiskyPlaceforChildrentoRide/tabid/192/Default.aspx

But you may also want to consider that left-hand turns are often an additional risk for side-impact, making a passenger side impact slightly more likely to occur than a driver's side impact.

holly321

pinesnow said:

I'm currently trying to figure out logistics of two RF seats (DS and new LO) and a booster (SD). I don't want to put SD in the middle bc how the heck would she get past both RF but I also don't really want DS next to the newborn until he's bigger. I'm probably overthinking it.

How old is your SD?

ericalee27

I'm super short so we put the RF seat behind me, so in my car, behind driver and in DH's car, behind passenger side.

mishka29

We put the infant seat on the passenger side. We just switched DD to rear facing so we moved her seat behind the driver. The good thing about infant seat on the passenger side is that its easier to see them with mirrors set up - for me anyway.

brachysira

pinesnow said:

I'm currently trying to figure out logistics of two RF seats (DS and new LO) and a booster (SD). I don't want to put SD in the middle bc how the heck would she get past both RF but I also don't really want DS next to the newborn until he's bigger. I'm probably overthinking it.

We have a Diono rear facing, and I think a 7 year old could get over it because it is so low.  I also sometimes ride the middle between our infant carseat and the Diono (in a Prius) and I just climb over the infant base before someone else puts the infant carseat in place.  M has most recently been using this long cat toy pole she stole from one of my friends to try to poke new LO, so I think your instinct about having the 2 los side by side is probably right on.

MrsCarroll.6-10-07

I have my oldest kids the most direct path from the house to the car door for them to get in. So baby behind passenger older kids behind driver and then back row middle. It was easier for me to control a bucket seat or carry the baby then to wrangle the big hooligans into the car=)  

SummerLove21

DD is behind the driver side; DS is behind the passenger side.  If I had my way, DD would be in the middle, but the middle seat is kind of domed and when we put DS in the middle way back when, the car seat fell over while I was driving and he was in it.  #-o